With the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina just past, the United Methodist Committee on Relief can feel proud of the work it has done over the last year to support survivors as it makes it into Newsweek magazine’s “Big Names in Katrina Relief”.
UMCOR came sixth in the list of Newsweek’s big names after it raised a massive US$64.5 million for hurricane relief.
But not only did the organisation excel in monetary funds, but United Methodist volunteers also clocked up thousands of hours in serving and contributing to recovery efforts. Meanwhile, US$7.6 million of relief supplies were also offered by the organisation.
UMCOR is playing a major role in the ongoing Katrina recovery efforts as it heads a consortium with nine other organisations called Katrina Aid Today.
The consortium has been boosted in its work by a US$66 million grant, received from the Federal Emergency Management Association and Department of Homeland Security and consisting of international donations gathered after Katrina’s deadly strike on the Gulf Coast last year August.
The Rev. Tom Hazelwood, UMCOR executive secretary for U.S. disaster response, reflected on the scale of the destruction wrought by Katrina.
"In terms of geography and the number of people affected, we haven't had anything like that," he said.
Even though one year has passed, the recovery operation is only now entering into the long-term phase of recovery. "Programmes are just now what I would call stabilised.”
Hazelwood is optimistic that the relief process, although sure to be lengthy, is still on target.
"I hope that we can keep the attention of our church and volunteers on this for a good while," he said, noting that the Gulf Coast conferences already have experienced a drop-off in volunteers. "The need for volunteers is going to be great for a number of years."
Partners in Katrina Aid Today are Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, Lutheran Disaster Response, Episcopal Relief and Development, Volunteers of America, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Boat People SOS, National Disability Rights Network and Odyssey House of Louisiana.